India sets curbs on onion exports as prices surge

India set a minimum price of $850 per tonne for overseas sale of onions, a government order said on Thursday, as the price of the politically-sensitive vegetable surged to its highest in two years in the local market.

Traders cannot export onions below $850 per tonne until the end of 2017, the order said.

Average prices at Lasalgaon, India’s largest wholesale onion market in the western state of Maharashtra, rose to 3,211 rupees ($49.62) per 100 kg last week, the highest in two years.

“Exports are not possible at $850. Egypt and Pakistan are selling at a much lower level,” said a Mumbai-based exporter, who declined to be named.

The Indian curbs on exports could lift prices in key importing countries like Bangladesh, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates and Sri Lanka, traders said.